The 6 Worst Ways to Lose Weight

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Have you ever met someone who’s lost an impressive amount of weight and kept it off for many years? It’s a rare thing to see. If you asked them how they did it and they said “weight loss pills,” I’d be pretty surprised. Sadly, some of the worst ways to lose weight are the ones we see the most often.

Since I’m a big fan of losing weight in a way that promotes total health, I wanted to create a list of the most toxic weight loss methods. It seems like these things are promoted everywhere you look but never create long-term success stories. These aren’t in any particular order, but the last one is the worst in my opinion, and you’ll see why when you get there.

The 6 Worst Ways to Lose Weight

Diets and Other Bad Advice

As much as people may disagree, dieting is more for weight loss than becoming healthier. Therefore, they’re not meant to make you happier or more energetic. Many diets do the exact opposite. If your plan to lose weight has an end date or restricts your favorite foods, it’s probably not going to be sustainable. You’re likely to give up and gain the weight back.

Food rules are never the way to go when it comes to losing weight healthily. Unfortunately, once people realize you’re losing weight, you’ll get bad advice from everyone and their dog, so try to tune it out. Soon, they’ll be onto the next diet fad, anyway.

Even if your weight loss is slower without restrictive dieting, it’ll be more likely to stick. Yes, it’s alright to eat carbs, and you can eat after 6 pm. Your body doesn’t care what time it is. Also, you won’t be tired, easily irritated, and miss out on enjoying occasions that involve eating.

Undereating and Overexercising

Even if you’re not following a specific diet, you can still be making your life dreary by eating too little. Eating low-calorie food or not eating enough food is pretty well a guarantee you’re not getting good nutrition. Your body will start eating muscle which will lower your metabolism too.

Overexercising is another way people create a calorie deficit, but it has its own problems. Overexercising puts you at risk for injuries, chronic fatigue, and a weakened immune system. In both cases, it’s better to eat more, exercise moderately, and let your weight loss be slow and healthy.

Not Making a Weight Loss Action Plan

This post was going to have five on the list, but the idea to add this one jumped out at me. When you decide to lose weight, plan to put in the work required. Weight loss isn’t always easy, especially if you want to lose weight quickly, which I don’t recommend. Make yourself an action plan that you know you’ll be able to stick to and follow through with it.

And when I say “make a plan,” I mean one that involves taking action. Praying and hoping may make you feel better, but it’s not going to help lower your weight. Losing weight involves choosing healthier food options, eating smaller portion sizes, and getting active. Don’t forget to drink lots of water and get good sleep.

"Good planning without good working is nothing" – Dwight D. Eisenhower Click To Tweet

Are you looking for help making a weight loss action plan? I have the perfect recommendation for you! Never Binge Again by Dr. Glenn Livingston is a book that effectively teaches readers how to take control of their eating. This book gives you the power to stick to any eating plan you choose.

The Never Binge Again method has helped me finally stop binge eating and move on with a healthy life. Glenn himself reads the audiobook, so you hear it the way it’s meant to sound. If you’d like to learn more about Never Binge Again, I wrote an in-depth and honest review here.

Click below for quick links to the book on Amazon!

• Never Binge Again-paperback
• Audiobook-Never Binge Again

Obsessing Over Every Little Thing

Obsession isn’t good in any case, even when it comes to self-improvement. When you worry about how fast you lose weight or where you’re losing it, it starts to harm your mental health. Stressing over the belly pooch or love handles that won’t go away aren’t going to change them, just make you stressed. You can’t spot-reduce fat anyway, so why not accept your body the way it is?

Another thing you shouldn’t worry about is how perfect you’re eating or exercising. Don’t bother counting every calorie or carb, you’ll drive yourself crazy. Also, it’s alright to take a day off to let your body recover. You’ll slow your progress if you don’t.

What’s worse, obsession over food, the nutrition it has, and how it was made can lead to an eating disorder called orthorexia. Orthorexia can ruin relationships, mental health, and even physical health if it gets too strict. Don’t be afraid to let yourself enjoy food, even if it’s not organic or it’s high in calories.

Weight Loss Supplements and Diet Aids

Weight loss supplements cause terrible side effects like insomnia and kidney problems, and most are also totally useless. Sadly, there’s no law stating they have to be properly tested before getting put out on the shelves. In most cases, you’d be better off lighting your money on fire than wasting it on a product that can harm you.

If you still decide to use diet aids to help with weight loss, make sure you drink lots of water and eat healthy food. Also, never take more than the recommended dosage.

THE Worst Way to Lose Weight: Crazy Weight Loss Devices

Here it is, the worst way to lose weight. While playing on Scoop.it a few months back, a suggested post caught my eye. At first, I thought it was some sort of dental tool, but then I saw the headline: “Weight-loss Device that Locks Your Mouth Shut.” And that’s exactly what it is. It leaves your mouth open enough for liquids and air to pass through.

At first, I thought this had to be some sort of dark humor, but then I realized this is a regular news site. A quick Google search showed the device being reported everywhere. Though, it’s hard to believe something like this got approved for use in the first place.

Finding that jaw-locking device was the inspiration for this post. I suppose that makes it useful for something aside from giving me nightmares. Doesn’t this seem like some archaic contraption, like a chastity belt?

Let’s be real here. Using something like this to stop yourself from eating takes away the ability to learn food freedom. You’ll never be able to pay attention to hunger and fullness and learn to say yes and no to food. Instead, you’re caging yourself and telling yourself you can’t be trusted around food. If you use a product like this, you’ll never lose weight and keep it off on your own.

Let me tell you, once you realize you can trust yourself to make good food choices, you feel amazing. Knowing I can enjoy a handful of potato chips and put the bag away is pure empowerment. If I can do it after years of suffering from binge eating disorder, you can too. There’s no need to clamp your mouth shut.

Worst Ways to Lose Weight: Takeaway

Well, there you have it, the six worst ways to lose weight. I bet you were already thinking of a few of them when you started reading. I think most of us are aware, deep down, those quick fixes are never the way to go. Of course, if their bad advice actually worked, the diet industry would lose a lot of paying customers.

Even if your health depends on losing weight, there’s no need to seal your mouth shut or starve yourself. If you need to, speak to your doctor about better ways to get help. Being healthy doesn’t happen if you hate your life, and I encourage you to do what’s best to improve your health while being happy.

Have you heard of any crazy gimmicks for weight loss? Share them in the comment section for us!

That’s it for now everyone. If you’ve found some value in this post, please share it to inspire others too! Thanks!

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